Catching Clouds
by TheCheeryCherry
Summary: Grace has woken up from her coma, but she doesn't remember her relationship with Rich. How far will he go to make her remember again? Alternative for 6x02
1. Chapter 1

I just want to curl up and die after that episode. I was ugly crying both times I watched it (yes, I put myself through the pain of watching it a second time). Then I had to go to school and I was still tearing up on the bus. No joke.

Anyway here's my completely AU version i.e. one 'what should have happened' version.

Let's go.

_You're not in this movie_

_You're not in this song_

_Never_

_Leave me paralyzed, love_

_Leave me hypnotized, love_

The Notwist, Consequence

Rich was lying on his bed staring up at the ceiling. He had no idea how long he had been lying there, but he didn't care if he lay there all day. He was depressed and scared that something bad was going to happen. When he was in his room lying on his bed these feelings just melted away, and he could just be numb; just the way he liked it. Grace was in a coma; he didn't want to think about that, so being numb suited him just fine.

He couldn't remember the time when he hadn't cared about Grace, because now it felt like his whole world revolved around her. She was his everything. He would've told himself off or rolled his eyes at this soppy, corny love stuff he was thinking, but Grace was sick and at the end of the day the soppy and corny stuff was all true.

He rolled onto his side so he could reach for his phone that was on his bedside table. The display image was of Grace… well, who else would it be? He fondly stroked the image and murmured, "_Grace_…"

_Wake up, wake up, wake up. _

Frustrated, he nearly threw the phone at the other side of the room, but then he noticed the time. 3:00PM.

He had discovered that this was the time when it was slightly easier to get into the hospital, but it was still pretty fucking difficult.

He sat up in bed faster than he would have thought possible and quickly checked his pockets to make sure he had his cigarettes, lighter and his phone. Check, check and check.

He headed out his front door, while ignoring Anita's incessant whining about him going to the hospital again and that he better not be buying flowers.

* * *

><p>When he got to the hospital he carefully checked down every corridor, making sure there were no posters saying, "BARRED" with a mug-shot photo of him on it. He couldn't see anyone he recognized, or he should say anyone that would recognize him. He was getting so close to her room and he couldn't help but smile when he realized he was on the floor she was staying in and he only had a few more steps to - …<p>

"Richard!" He stopped in his tracks and muttered a few angry swear words under his breath. _Great._ He turned and to his surprise saw it was Pauline the nurse. It was a far more welcoming sight than say, Mr. Blood.

"Please, please, please let me go in! Just for two minutes!" He didn't care that he was practically begging her right now; maybe it would work for once. Strangely Pauline was smiling and not one of those sympathetic smiles either.

"Mr. Blood won't be happy if I tell you this," There was a long pause and Rich was practically shaking with anticipation for what she was going to say next. "But Grace woke up."

Rich smiled and it was a smile that he only reserved for Grace. She was awake and he didn't know what his body was doing, but before he knew it he was hugging Pauline as tightly as he possibly could. He let out a little, 'Finally!' but he soon realized this wasn't the whole story, because Pauline seemed to stiffen in his embrace. He thought it could just be because of the fact that he was hugging her, so he let go immediately, but now she was giving a sympathetic smile again. Fuck.

"What?" Rich asked, completely dumbstruck. _What's wrong now? She's awake._

"Oh, Rich. She might not be able to remember who you are." She bit her lip before she continued. "She's suffering from post-traumatic amnesia."

"Amnesia?" He repeated. He ran a hand through his hair and opened his mouth a tiny fraction in shock.

Rich didn't know if she continued talking, because his ears started to ring. It reminded him a bit of the time he went deaf. _What if she can't remember me?_

But he shook his head; because of course Grace would remember him. She loves him.

"I want to see her," he blurted out. He could tell by Pauline's face she was about to refuse him. "Now. I have to."

"Richard, you're not allowed to." He felt like kicking a wall in rage and frustration.

"Please. She's the love of my life." Pauline sighed and Rich knew she was about to give in.

"Fine, but we are just going to pretend you managed to sneak past me, okay?" Rich grinned, nodded in agreement and ran in the direction of Grace's room.

He flung the door open and Grace simply glanced in his direction, her eyes wide at his sudden appearance. As soon as he saw her, he completely forgot about his doubts. He walked forward to her and felt the tears pricking at the corner of his eyes.

"Grace!" This was all he managed to say. She looked as beautiful as he remembered despite the scars on the right side of her face. She looked so weak and fragile that all Rich wanted to do was scoop her up in his arms and just hold her.

He flopped down on her bed and went to grab her hand, but Grace pulled it away slightly.

"Who are you?" His hand fell to his side and he dropped his gaze so he was nervously fidgeting with his jeans. "I'm sorry, apparently I can't remember things."

She said it so matter-of-factly and with a pleasant smile on her face, as if she didn't want to hurt his feelings despite not knowing who he was.

"Uhh… I'm your boyfriend, Grace." _Please remember me._

He dared to glance up at her and saw her eyeing him up and down. She looked like she was biting back a smile, which at first confused Rich then he got it. He let out a long, nearly defeated sigh. She probably would not have expected to have a metalhead for a boyfriend. Not in a million years.

"Oh." was what she finally said. She tilted her head slightly and gazed at his face for what felt like a very long time. "Didn't you have long hair?"

Rich's heart was beating very fast… Could this mean she knew who he was? He tried not to smile and instead nonchalantly nodded.

"How do you-?" He started to say, before she cut him off.

"I remember you from school, but I've never even spoken to you." She shut her eyes and leaned back against her pillow, as if just remembering that much was giving her a headache. Rich exhaled slowly, not wanting to give up hope completely. She would remember soon enough, maybe a few hours or days. He was about to tell her his name, but the door to the room opened.  
>"Escort Mr. Hardbeck out of the building at once!" <em>Fucking hell.<em> He couldn't even get two minutes alone with her before this dickhead turned up.

The two security guards took Rich by the arms and began to drag him out of the room. Grace was staring at the scene unfolding in front of her with a startled and worried expression. This spurred Rich on to tell her this departing sentence,

"I'll make you remember, Grace, don't worry." She sucked on her lips as she watched him get dragged away from her.

She didn't know what there was to find out though. Was he really her boyfriend? She only knew him as that boy with the funny clothes.

Oh yeah, there's gonna be more of this horrendous fic.

I will continue the Unseens fic, but when I'm less depressed…


	2. Chapter 2

Wow, I never expected such amazing feedback from you all! I guess we're all trying to escape what happened in 6x02, right? What are your guys feelings on the Ghost!Grace we're supposed to be getting soon, by the way? It's all a bit weird, right?

_She lives in a daydream._

_I don't belong._

_She is the sunlight._

_The sun is gone._

She is the Sunlight – Trading Yesterday

Grace was in her local shopping centre with Liv, Mini and a girl she couldn't really recognize. They were squeezing through tiny gaps in a crowd until they reached a busker. Grace was entranced by the music playing and immediately began to twirl around, completely ignoring everyone watching her. She called out to the girl she couldn't recognize, apparently her name was Franky, and persuaded her easily to come and dance too. She didn't have a care in the world.

Next Grace was in a car with no recollection of how she got there. The driver, who was someone Grace had no memory of, was going too fast for her liking and she was shouting, 'Slow down!' but he wouldn't… couldn't. She was panicking; what was going to happen next?

"Grace," The voice woke her from her terrifying dream and she was thankful for it, as she didn't think she could live through that dream for another second. "Are you alright?"

Grace tried to sit up in her bed and slowly nodded at her Mother. Her father was by her side putting the back of his hand against her forehead to check her temperature. She was acutely aware of the fact that she was covered in sweat despite the fact she was feeling rather cold.

"I'm fine, it was just a dream." Her father narrowed his eyes at her as if she were hiding something from him. She closed her eyes briefly in an effort to calm herself down.

"Well, you're going to be coming home soon, Gracie." Her mother said softly, and Grace smiled back. She missed her room even though she didn't know if it still looked the same as she remembered it. God, this was frustrating. _Why can't I remember a single thing?_

"Your father and I will be heading out soon, but Olivia and Mini will be coming over to visit you. That will be nice, won't it?" It would be nice.

Her father shook his head at the mention of her two best friends, but Grace wasn't quite sure why. Her mother smiled as best as she could, but her eyes were filled with tears, which Grace thought must be because she had almost lost her daughter. And now her daughter couldn't recall nearly one year of her life, which must be horrible.

Her mother turned to her father and he nodded at her. She squeezed Grace's hand one last time and gave her a kiss on her head before leaving the room.

"I requested her not to cry in your presence. You do not need crying in here." Grace just stared absently ahead of her without replying. Now that they were alone Grace wanted to know what had happened earlier on. Why had that boy claimed to be her boyfriend? Why was her father so determined to keep him away from her?

"Daddy," she started slowly, not really knowing how to word what she wanted to say. "Who was that boy who came into my room earlier?"

Her father remained tight-lipped and angry, but eventually answered.

"He's nothing for you to be concerned about right now." It was what she kind of expected from him. She did not want to back down though.

"Was he my boyfriend?" She asked, raising her eyebrows and trying to meet her father's eyes.

David Blood knew he couldn't lie and say he wasn't (although he really wanted to), because Olivia and Mini would say that he was. He had to make sure Grace wouldn't want to find out more about him though. With a sigh he began his reply.

"Yes, he _was_ your boyfriend. However you had told me many times you weren't happy in that relationship, so that is why I tried to keep him away from you… He's become very obsessive over you since you've been in the coma too."

"Oh…" Grace turned away from her father and stared at her bruised fingers. The boy had seemed a _little_ mental when he came into the room, but Grace had simply thought that was due to concern.

"Shouldn't you leave before Mini and Liv arrive?" Her Father had never wanted any of her friends knowing they were related. David Blood seemed to realize the meaning behind the question almost immediately.

"Ahh… They already know I'm your father." Grace widened her eyes in shock. "You had insisted a few months back that I meet your so-called friends."

She had no idea why her father was talking that way about her friends, but couldn't ask any more questions, as the door suddenly opened.

There were two loud screams and a blur of people. They fell onto Grace's bed, hugging her and not letting go.

"Don't you ever do that again!" Liv was saying, in between a few tears.

"You scared us, Gracie!" Mini said into Grace's left ear. Grace could only laugh and look over at her father over their two bodies. He was staring at the scene before him with a look of pure disapproval.

"You're squishing me!" There was laughter from the girls, as they began to sit up.

"Yes, be careful with her." David Blood said in tones, which suggested he was talking about something much bigger than what was happening right now. He gave a curt nod in their direction. "I will be back in approximately two hours, Grace. Goodbye."

He gave her a quick tap on her head, which made Grace feel a bit like a dog, and then turned to leave. She decided to put her suspicions about her father's strange behavior to the back of the mind.

Mini hopped off the bed and got comfortable in the chair her father was previously sitting in, meanwhile Liv stayed lying next to Grace. She felt completely happy to have her friends by her side; despite the fact that she wasn't too sure how much she had forgotten about them.

"How is Nick?" This was the first question that formed in her mind, so she blurted it out. This question was greeted with raised eyebrows.

"What?" Mini asked in confusion.

"Are you not dating him?" Realization dawned on Mini's face and she let out a loud cackle of laughter. Liv joined in.

"Fuck, this is weird." Liv stated once the laughter abruptly stopped.

"What else don't you know?" Mini asked, placing one hand on Grace's arm and stroking it. Grace shrugged uselessly, as she found that question extremely difficult to answer.

"I don't know who my boyfriend is. I don't remember what I was doing in Morocco. I can't remember the last time I danced… There's so much I can't remember." She sniffed and turned to look up at the ceiling.

"Hey, you'll remember soon." Liv said consolingly, while trying to get Grace to look back at them instead of at the ceiling.

"We can tell you what we know about you and Rich. You're a pretty fucking lucky girl, you know." Mini said teasingly, while giving Grace's arm a squeeze. Grace stopped looking at the ceiling then. She was even more confused now, because her father had basically said she was in a bad relationship. _Shit, why can't I just remember all this?_

"Yeah, you were first helping him out, so he could get some metal clunge -"

Grace yelped and threw her hands to her ears and started humming a tune.

"Don't tell me anything!" She nearly shouted. "I want to remember it myself, I don't want to have to be told it."

She removed her hands from her ears when she thought it was safe to hear what her friends were saying again.

"Fine." Mini said a little grumpily. She had obviously been prepared to tell her all about her romance with Rich.

"What can you remember then? Anything from the past year?" Liv asked, looking up at Grace.

"Bits." Grace mumbled, trying to concentrate on the dream she had and the fact it felt real.

"I remember being in a shopping mall with you two and a girl named… Franky? But I don't really know who she is. And being in a car… I guess that was my accident."

Grace stopped; she felt scared all over again.

Mini and Liv gave each other a meaningful look. A nurse came into the room and spoke merrily about how Grace was doing so much better.

"Uhm… excuse me, nurse… uh… what's your name?" Mini asked, while standing up to get a better look at her badge. "Pauline? Can I talk to you for a minute?"

She gave an awkward smile at the others, as Pauline nodded a little unsurely. When they got out of the room, Mini was wringing her hands together due to her nervousness.

"I thought she wouldn't be able to remember the accident. Is there something wrong? I mean why can she remember that, but not other things?" Mini bit her lip. She had a feeling that Grace regaining her memory wasn't supposed to work like this. Pauline gave her a little smile to show that she understood why Mini was nervous, but there was no need to be.

"Honestly it works differently for different people. Some people remember patches and gain them back in a random order, like what seems to be happening with Grace."

"She can't remember her boyfriend, will she soon?" Mini began chewing on fingernails, which was another bad nervous habit of hers.

"Oh, Rich? Just give her time." Pauline smiled, she must have known Rich pretty well when he spent most of his time trying to break into Grace's room, Mini thought.

When Mini returned, Grace was eyeing her questioningly.

"I was just checking if they could give you some vitamin drinks or something, because no offense Grace, but your face is looking seriously pimply." Grace raised her eyebrows at her, as if to say, '_seriously, that's what you're worried about?_' Because Grace thought the fact that her face was still hideously scarred would be a bigger concern. Still Grace smoothed her face with one hand to see if she could feel for any spots.

Mini took out her phone to text Rich about Grace. He had begged her to let him know if she mentioned him at all or if her memory was improving. She was feeling incredibly bad that Grace had no recollection of the guy she had once almost married and loved with all her heart.

Yeah… bad chapter, but needed this filler before the next chapter which will/should (I'm not entirely sure what I'm doing right now, haha) be Rich trying to get Grace to remember him. Hopefully you're still enjoying it!


	3. Chapter 3

_I know something is broken_

_And I'm trying to fix it_

_Trying to repair it_

_Any way I can_

X&Y, Coldplay

Walking into her room was the scariest thing Grace had been confronted with since she woke up. Having a stranger run into her room trying to convince her that they were dating was nothing compared to this. Her room was filled with a mixture of things she had since she was a little girl and things she didn't know why she had. Seeing the photos in their cute photo frames scared her as well. The smiling face looked like her, but it felt like a completely different girl.

She sat down on her bed and her eye caught one photo standing on her bedside table; it was of her and Rich. She was in a bikini and sitting on a chair, while Rich was kissing her on the cheek. She picked the photo off the table and just stared at it, desperately trying to make sense of it… trying to remember it.

A knock on the door snapped her out of her reverie. She put the photo back face down and turned to see her father entering her room.

"Oh, hi Dad." She began to make her more comfortable on her bed by crossing her legs.

"Hello, Grace." He stayed standing up, but hovered over her bed. "Just checking to see if you are alright."

"I am pretty fine." She said, giving a small smile hoping that would be enough for her Dad. She just felt like being completely alone right now. She stared down at one of her old cuddly toys of a unicorn that was lying on her bed; she began to play with it distractedly.

"Your mother and I have been discussing about your education. We think it's best you don't go back for another few weeks, so you can catch up on your work here and try to remember everything." Grace lifted her head and jutted her chin out in annoyance.

"_What_? But… Daddy, I want to go back to school. To see my friends and it will be so much easier to remember things if I was there -"

"Stop shouting!" He exclaimed, before continuing on in a much calmer voice that was still filled with determination. "You are too far behind to be able to continue at the present moment."

"I'm studying English, Drama and Music. It's already in my head; I don't need to take any more time off school. Please Dad!" She was wiping tears out of her eyes. It wasn't fair; it wouldn't take her long to catch up on her studies.

"Fine. But you are prohibited from going out with your friends at the weekend. You need to do extra studying at home." Grace nodded sullenly, as her father walked out the room angrily.

She crossed her arms across her chest as if she was still a little girl who thought everything her father lectured her about was unfair.

She noticed her reflection in the mirror and was appalled to see the bruises on the side of her face were still very prominent. She wish she could just use a special fairy wand that could clear away her bruises and scars so she could forget about this whole accident… although forgetting things was kind of Grace's expertise at the moment.

* * *

><p>Walking into school that morning had been an electrifying feeling. She had missed this place a lot and she even felt like she was remembering all the things she had learnt as she sat through classes. She was also (secretly) enjoying the attention she seemed to be getting from her accident. People she didn't know, but obviously knew her were saying, 'We're glad you're feeling better!' and other things along those lines.<p>

She was walking to her locker when she noticed him. She considered just pretending she hadn't seen him, but she didn't like to be rude.

"Hi, Rich, right?" He had been smiling as he approached her, but when she had to clarify what his name was his smile faded as quickly as it had appeared. He nodded and then exhaled as an awkward silence fell between them.

"How… is everything then?" He started nervously, using his arms a lot as he talked.

"Um… good. How about you?" She was being polite as she could manage under the awkward circumstances.

"Fine. Look do you want -"

"Grace!" Franky was standing in between them smiling, but shifting her gaze between them, as if she realized she had walked in the middle of something.

"Franky…" Grace smiled, the girl standing before her was a little more feminine than the girl she had seen in the dream, but she still managed to recognize it was her.

"You remember her?" Rich suddenly said, obviously outraged. Grace immediately knew this must look bad if she can't remember her boyfriend, but remembers this girl who might not be a very close friend for all Grace knew.

"Oh, no, I'm sorry Rich. I just…" But Rich was already walking away from her in his heavy combat boots. She bit her lip and watched him leave. Why was she feeling so guilty about this?

* * *

><p>The first person Rich thought to go to was Alo. He found him in the common room playing on his phone, while sitting on one of the sofas. He stomped over there, swearing under his breath, and threw his bag on the available seat next to Alo, but began to pace.<p>

"What's up, mate?" Alo asked, pulling his best confused look. Rich kicked the wall, but couldn't actually let his anger out in words. Alo stood up and pulled on one of Rich's arms, so he would turn to face him.

"She remembers Franky, but not me." He felt angry tears pricking at his eyes, but he tried to hold them back. No fucking way was he about to cry in front of the twats currently sitting in the room.

"It fucking hurts already that she doesn't have a fucking clue who I am. But now… now she knows Franky. It just fucking hurts, Alo."

The only thing Alo could do then was hug Rich as tightly as he could until he thought of something comforting or magnificent to say. He thought of something and released Rich, but held onto his shoulders, so Rich couldn't look away from him.

"Then you go and make her remember. It'll work." It seemed to work as Rich wiped at one of his eyes, then slowly nodded looking a little more determined.

* * *

><p>She had the same free period as him and they were both in the common room. He knew it was the only chance he was going to get for the day, so he slowly approached her. He was feeling scared… what if he told her everything, but she still couldn't remember?<p>

She must have heard his heavy footsteps for she glanced up in his direction then unsurely smiled up at him.

"I'm really sorry about earlier, Richard… I didn't mean to offend you." She called him Richard. For some reason this lifted his hopes and he took a seat opposite her.

"Uh… it's fine. It wasn't fair of me to get angry at you." He so wanted to reach out and touch her hair, face or hand. He missed the physical interaction and being able to hold her whenever he felt like it, which was all the time.

"Okay, so…?" She was staring across at him with her huge brown eyes, while chewing on her lip. He coughed and remembered why he had first come over here.

"I want to try make you remember about me… about us." He couldn't look her in the eye as he said this. She simply smiled and nodded her head.

"Sure." He looked up just to make sure he hadn't imagined her saying it. Sure enough she was smiling at him and obviously waiting for him to say something.

"Right… Well, we first met during the summer before college started. Then I only spoke to you when Franky arrived here -"

"No, stop!" Rich had gotten so into what he was saying that he hadn't noticed the mildly uncomfortable expression on Grace's face. Now she was wriggling in her seat, as if she was disgusted by what he was saying.

"I don't want to remember like that. I don't want to hear how we met and hear our story… It will feel like it's happened to someone else, and not to me."

_Maybe stories are just stories or maybe we can make our life a story. _

He couldn't help but smile at the memory of that night when Grace had told him she wasn't real, just fiction. If only she could remember that night.

"Well, what am I supposed to do, Grace?" She was still smiling at him, whereas Rich was desperate. Of course this wasn't a big deal to her though, he was just a guy she had only just started speaking to.

She tapped her chin pensively, and then her eyes began to sparkle with an idea.

"Why don't you show me something that might trigger a reaction?" She asked it so politely and matter-of-factly that it seemed like her losing a year's worth of her memory was not a big deal at all.

Rich smiled and stood up. He knew just the place he could take her. Grace was still seated and she made an expression as if to say, 'What?'

"Come on then." This was all Rich said, but Grace immediately got her things together and followed him.

* * *

><p>"What is this place?" Grace asked in awe.<p>

"Uh… a pub." Grace rolled her eyes, as Rich pulled out a chair for her to sit on.

"I can see that, Rich." She had a little laugh to her voice, as she sat down on her chair.

"I'll get the drinks."

Rich had brought her to The Rhubarb Tavern. It mainly gathered a crowd that consisted of metalheads and this was the place where Grace acted as Subrosa. It was also the first time Rich saw there was to Grace than he originally suspected.

When Rich was bringing back the pints, he noticed Grace examining everything around her carefully.

"Do you recognize it?" Grace took a dainty sip of her pint then placed it back on the table. She gave a small sigh before answering.

"No… I'm not really supposed to be drinking. I'm on some medication and things." Rich just nodded and stared at the table. This was all he had planned; what should he do now?

"So, is this it?" Grace fiddled with the watch she was wearing and Rich then realized how awkward this was becoming.

"Yeah… pretty much." They sat in silence for a moment, while Rich just watched her.

He noticed her foot was tapping to the faint Metal music in the background… Grace still liked metal music then.

"Hold on!" He exclaimed, taking Grace by surprise. He ran to the bar and started talking frantically to the barmaid. When he got back he was grinning and out of breath.

"What was all that about?" Grace asked bemusedly.

"They're going to play a song. It's a song that you know." He said it as if there was a much deeper meaning to it that Grace couldn't help but blush and turn her face away.

"_Fuck you; I won't do what you tell me!_

_Fuck you; I won't do what you tell me!_ "

Grace raised her eyebrows in surprise as she made out the lyrics. She could swear she had heard this song somewhere before, but where from? She held her breath in anticipation, as she was so close to remembering it… No, it left her as quickly as it had come. She had never heard this song before.

Rich was looking at her in anticipation too. She shook her head and his hopeful smile faded.

"Shouldn't we go back to college now?" She asked, wanting to just leave as fast as she could.

* * *

><p>Ten minutes later, they were standing a little bit apart from each other on the street outside. Rich was kicking at little stones on the road and Grace standing awkwardly by his side.<p>

"Are we going back then?"

"I don't have anymore classes, so I'll go back home." Rich replied, still avoiding her gaze.

"Oh…" Grace hitched her bag further up her arm. "Maybe we can do this again sometime? You could try helping me remember again?"

Grace asked the question so slowly, as she was trying to be careful not to give him the wrong idea. She wasn't asking him out on a date or anything, but he was still kind of her boyfriend, so maybe it was a date.

Rich's face lit up. He had assumed Grace would never want to speak to him again after that disaster.

"Sure, that would be cool." He could hardly contain his excitement.

"Cool." Grace said back.

She watched him leave, so she was left standing on the road still not quite sure who he was, or most importantly who she was.

* * *

><p>You guys are seriously blowing me away with the number of reviews I've been receiving. Hopefully you're still enjoying it :)<p>

And yes, there were a lot of parallels to 5x02 in this chapter, because I wanted to take it back to the start.

Keep reviewing! Oh, and I've written out a plan for this fic and there should be around 10 chapters in total!


	4. Chapter 4

**Let's get on with the angst!**

_The world is too heavy,_

_too big for my shoulders,_

_come take the weight off me, now._

Athlete, Rubik's Cube.

* * *

><p>Grace spent another two afternoons with Rich before it went downhill. She was trying to repair her memory, but all she was doing was finding out more and more things that she couldn't remember. It was frustrating to say the least.<p>

The second time Grace snuck out with Rich during her study period was to go to a metal store where Rich had worked at over the summer. Apparently they had spent a lot of time together there in the staff room. Grace had stared at the dingy, foul smelling staff room and crinkled her nose in disgust.

"What did we do in this room?" She gestured around her, as she spoke in a tone of disgust. Rich tried not to look disheartened by her reaction, but he failed miserably.

"Uhm… sit down there." Grace let out a little laugh in disbelief.

"Do I have to?" But she still went to sit down there. There was a loud creaking sound as she did so and her eyes widened as the noise startled her. Rich sat a little close to her and gestured at the small television opposite them.

"Uh… remember what we were doing now?" Grace closed her eyes even though it didn't help her remember at all.

"Watching movies." She shrugged her shoulders, as her memory failed her once again. She began to rub her temples in an attempt to get rid of the constant pain in her head. Rich nodded once.

"Right. Do you want to know what kind of movies or would that spoil the story?" There was an underlying layer of sarcasm in what Rich said that took Grace a moment to figure out. She let her arms fall to her side and blinked rapidly up at Rich in shock.

"I'm sorry, Richard. What? Don't you think this is frustrating for me too?" He looked like he regretted saying anything when Grace raised her voice in her irritation.

"Yeah, of course. I just…" The words '_I love you'_ were on the tip of his tongue, but he didn't want to risk ruining everything.

"Well, I think that's enough for today." She stood up rather abruptly and made her way to the door.

"Are we doing this again on Thursday, or what?" Rich had a slightly desperate edge to his voice, which made him want to kick himself, but he couldn't help it.

Grace sighed. Despite the fact that she now held a great dislike for Rich, she was growing slightly obsessed over finding out her past. Rich seemed to be the link to unlocking her memories, so she ultimately needed him.

"Yes… I can come after school before my ballet class." Rich was in the middle of following her out the door, but paused momentarily in shock.

"You're starting ballet again?"

"Yes. My Dad _finally_ agreed to it, but I don't how good I will be now." They were on the street outside now and were slowly walking back to college. She couldn't hide the worry in her voice.

"You'll be great."

* * *

><p>"I'm confused… What is this place exactly?" Grace was standing in a large open place, but couldn't see anything due to the lights being off. Rich was fiddling with the electricity in a far off corner. Grace played with her ballet skirt while waiting for Rich's response. She had decided to get changed straight after class in case the<p>

"Uhm... You'll see!" Rich shouted back. He swore audibly a few times before the lights turned on. Grace squinted her eyes as she tried to adjust to the brightness.

A large stage stood before her and when she turned her head slightly she could see a bar, so she automatically assumed it was a club.

Rich was rather excited as he walked closer to Grace. She bit her lip, because none of this made sense to her.

"Did we come here before?" It seemed like the most logical question to ask.

"Yeah… for this." He reached into his pocket and took out two small pieces of paper. He walked closer to Grace and handed them to her. His hand stayed on hers for a moment too long and Grace pulled away quickly. She tried to focus on the tickets that she was now holding instead of the fact that Rich was staring intensely at her.

Her cheeks were flushed, because she felt something strange when their hands touched. It was like she could remember something… a feeling or just a moment in time.

"Napalm Death?" She was so sure she was mispronouncing it, as she had never seen these words before. Rich nodded with a stupid smile on his face.

"Get on the stage." He said. She turned to stare at him as if he was mad, but when he still nodded at her she went along with it. She heaved herself up on the stage and stood there stupidly with her arms hanging by her sides.

A song started playing, which she assumed was one of Napalm Death's and as she would've guessed they were a heavy metal band.

"You were really happy up there. Probably the happiest I've seen you." She gave an awkward smile at this comment and began to stare at her feet.

"What was I doing on the stage?" She asked quietly, then realized Rich probably couldn't hear her over the music, so she started to say it louder. "What was -"

"I heard you," Rich said, and then he let out a faint laugh. "I still don't know why you got up here in the first place."

She felt the curiosity for what she was doing on the stage in the middle of a gig overcome her and she desperately searched through her mind for the answer. She tried and tried until it felt like several minutes had passed. She felt angry tears running down her face. She felt someone holding onto her hand tightly and give her a little shake. She opened her eyes and saw Rich before her.

"Grace? What's wrong?" She pulled herself out of his grip and took a few paces away from him.

"This. This is what's wrong." He didn't reply, but turned slightly away from her and started scuffing his shoes against the floor. She took this as an opportunity to have a much-needed rant. "I'm trying so hard to remember and I just can't. I can't handle the disappointed looks I get when I don't remember something from you, my Dad and my friends. And I don't even know you!"

She took a sharp intake of breath when she said that, because it was mean. It was too late to take it back though. She hopped down from the stage then turned sharply back to Rich, who was still standing with clenched fists on the stage.

"My Dad said we weren't working and I believe him. We just don't match; we don't go together." She shut her mouth, as she knew only harsh words were going to come out of her mouth now. If she continued ranting her next point would be about the fact that she disliked Rich and only agreed to the meetings because she wanted to remember things.

"Your Dad is a fucking prick, Grace." He said with a complete deadpan expression. She jutted her chin out in complete annoyance.

"You don't have a right to say anything about my father. You don't know him."

"Uh, yes I do. You know him too." But Grace was already walking towards the door.

During her long walk to the exit she quickly ran through the things she said and she ended up wanting to slap herself.

It wasn't right her getting angry with him. All he was doing was trying to help her and all she was doing was using him. That needed to stop.

When she reached the door handle she turned around slowly.

"I'm sorry… We shouldn't do this anymore. Trying to make me remember is like trying to catch clouds in the sky; Impossible… Goodbye Rich." She didn't wait to see if he had a response and left out the door. He was left standing there on the stage with only a small hope that his Grace was still in there and would eventually remember everything about him. But it was the smallest amount of hope imaginable.

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><p>If only her memories came as easy to her as Ballet did she would already remember everything that happened to her in the past year.<p>

The teacher had given her a small sympathetic look when Grace first entered the classroom, as if to say, '_You'll probably not be able to remember any of these steps'_ and some other girls had pointed at the still visible scars on the side of her face. She had blushed and nervously joined the others. To her surprise she was only faltering a little with the steps. When she saw the others performing the steps, she just seemed to remember all her moves.

Nothing worked as easy as ballet did, but that had always been the case for Grace.

As they were working on arabesques, the door opened and a handsome boy around the same age as Grace walked in. He looked out of breath and ran to join the other males in the class.

"Mr. Peters, you are very late." Her Ballet teacher announced, but the boy didn't look shameful at all.

"Yes, sorry about that." A few girls let out a little giggle at the fact that his tights had a whole in them. The teacher rolled her eyes and clapped her hands.

"Let's do some pair-work now! Practice pas de deux." Grace waited for one of the male students to join her and frowned when she realized it was most likely going to be the plump boy. Instead Peters strolled over to her and held a hand out to her.

"Liam Peters. I know it's boring, but if it was anything more flamboyant people definitely would think I was gay." She had an urge to ask, '_are you?_', but the way he was looking at her was an indication he was not. She had problems with a boy in Ballet class before, who was actually gay but still lead Grace on. As she remembered this she decided to clarify.

"And are you?" He smirked, which gave him adorable dimples, and shook his head. She blushed and began to appreciate his good looks. He had sandy blonde hair and was muscular. He was kind of how she imagined all the Prince Charmings in the fairytales to look like.

"Your name?" He asked, as he tried to move her into the position to do a pirouette.

"Oh, you don't know?" Maybe he was new, which suited Grace just fine. She didn't want to explain that she couldn't remember things to yet another person she knew, or supposedly knew.

"Should I?" He asked, while breathing heavily on her neck as he turned her around slowly. She eventually was facing him once more and she saw he was giving his smirk again.

"Grace Violet." She had always preferred using Violet to Blood.

"Beautiful name." His eyes fell on the light scars on her face, but he didn't ask about it, which once again Grace was thankful for.

After class he walked her back to her house and they spent a long time discussing movies and theatre and of course Ballet. He was becoming the escape that she needed from the real world, kind of like Ballet. When she was walking with him she could pretend she hadn't had an accident and she didn't have a boyfriend she couldn't remember and that she just generally couldn't remember things over a one-year period.

He was her Prince Charming coming to take her away from reality and she was enjoying it completely.

* * *

><p>Okay, so when I was writing this I totally imagined Liam looking like Joe Cole (Luke in Skins 6).<p>

Next chapter I will do a special mention for the people who have been reviewing, because I'll be halfway through the fic! :'( I really do appreciate all your kind words about the fic and I almost definitely still wouldn't be writing this if I didn't have you guys to motivate me!

Oh, and if any of you want to cry a lot over hardlet, I suggest you look up the videos: _dance on our graves_ and _if you are a ghost_ – my official song for them right now. They are both beautiful.

TheCheeryCherry


	5. Chapter 5

So, as I said before I want to individually thank you for reviewing! Thanks to **hardletfan**, **iryne**, **Violet Eternity** and **sjklsaklj**. And a huge special thanks to those who have reviewed more than once: **DeArPrUdEnCe03**, **lucywatson**, **jackiehyde4eva**, **Phangirling** and **pure-simple-adoration**. If I've missed anyone out just let me know and I will include you :)

Seriously guys I never thought I was actually good with this fanfiction stuff and you've made me feel so great about this story. It really is a great motivator so please don't stop reviewing and putting this on alert! :D

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><p><em>I've been watching your world from afar, <em>

_I've been trying to be where you are, _

_And I've been secretly falling apart, _

_I'll see._

Aqualung – Strange and Beautiful

His phone rang for the third time that day and he ignored it like he had done for the previous calls. He sat on the edge of his bed staring at the buzzing phone that sat on his bedside table. He shook his head angrily and lit up the cigarette he had been holding between his fingers for about ten minutes. His mind had been elsewhere thinking about Grace like usual.

He exhaled and a satisfying puff of smoke drifted upwards. He knew he didn't really have a right to be depressed right now, but he just was and there was nothing he could do about it. She was alive, but she didn't really want anything to do with him. How long would he have to wait for her? He whacked his forehead with his hand at that stupid question. He would wait for fucking ever if he had to. He knew there was no other girl like Grace and maybe she was the only one for him.

It had been a long two weeks since Grace had basically told him she didn't want to try to remember her life with Rich. He had tried to seem fine at school and smile at her from across the corridor as if nothing was wrong, but when he was at home he curled up in his room away from the world.

"For fucksake." Rich muttered coldly when his phone buzzed for the fourth time. He rolled over to the table, while trying to keep the cigarette away from his bed sheets.

"What?" He snapped down the phone.

"Woah mate! Calm down." He rolled his eyes as he realized it was Alo.

"Yeah, what?" He was still snapping down the phone. He took another drag on his cigarette while Alo began rambling down the phone.

"Well, we're at the pub… the regular one and just wanted to know if you're coming or not?"

"Who's 'we'?" Rich tried to sound casual and annoyed, but realized it wasn't working. Alo let out a small sigh before replying.

"I don't know if she's coming… Mini and Liv will be here though. Look just come and have fun with us. You can't mope around in your crusty boxers staring at photos of you and Grace forever."

"I'm wearing a shirt…" Rich said sullenly. However he had spent time looking at old photos of him and Grace. Plus text messages, voicemails he hadn't gotten around to deleting, twitter _and_ facebook messages.

"Yeah, whatever. Just come out… Please."

"Fine." He hung up the phone before debating whether or not he should bother showering. After sniffing his armpit area, he decided yes he definitely should. Besides if Grace showed up he wanted to smell his best.

* * *

><p>He entered the pub and gave a quick nod in a form of a greeting to his gang. Liv and Mini weren't there yet, but Alo, Franky and Nick were sitting down having a laugh over something.<p>

"Hey Rich," Franky said, giving him a friendly smile. She had cheered up a lot since Grace woke up from the accident, but before that she was wracked with guilt. _At least Grace never forgot who she was, _Rich thought bitterly. Yeah sure, she only really remembered Franky's name and the fact that they were friends, but that's more than he can say for him and Grace.

"Hi," he said moodily and thumped down on a seat next to Alo. Nick gave him a casual pat on the back and opened his mouth to say something, but closed it and waved at something behind Rich.

He eagerly twisted in his seat and saw Mini and Liv enter the pub. Rich slumped forward when he couldn't see Grace in tow.

"Alright, Rich?" Liv said, as her and Mini sat down on seats near to him. She studied his face for a few moments before knowing what he was thinking.

"She's not coming." Mini said before helping herself to a shot. Her and Liv shared a meaningful look before Liv started talking.

"She still doesn't really remember you…" She chewed on her lip before continuing. "She's been talking a lot about some guy in her ballet classes."

"What?" Rich couldn't hide the outrage in his voice or facial expression.

"Calm down, Mr. Metal." Mini's nicknames were rather annoying and stupid more than often. "She hasn't screwed him or anything."

It still didn't make Rich unclench his fists or make his heart unclog itself from his throat or make his ears stop ringing. She liked this ballet twat… she liked someone who wasn't him. If this wasn't a confirmation that Grace wanted to move on and never remember Rich again, then he didn't know what was.

"She just seems to like him quite a bit. They've got a lot in common." Mini finished. Rich stared at the half-empty pint sitting in front of him and considered just getting up and going back home. He didn't want to be around his friends right now.

"Is he good-looking?" Alo loudly whispered, so Rich could still hear him clearly. He began to bang his head against the table in an attempt to drown out the noise.

"We haven't even seen him yet." Mini said, while trying to pull Rich back into a sitting position.

"I'm going to be honest with you, Rich" Liv continued. "He seems pretty perfect from the way she's describing him -"

Rich let out a loud groan; was Liv purposefully trying to torture him?

"She's never wanted perfect though, as she picked you to begin with." Mini said, rolling her eyes at Rich's behavior. Rich was about to open his mouth to say something harsh at this indirect insult.

"She was always happy with you." Franky piped in sensing an argument about to occur. And Nick nodded his head in agreement.

Rich gave a pathetic sigh.

"I've already tried everything I could think of… She doesn't remember me and she said herself... she wants nothing to do with me." His voice sounded all choked up and absolutely desperate. He used his hands to emphasize what he was saying and ended with a hand running through his hair.

"Try harder." Mini said bitingly with her teeth grinding together. She looked almost physically exhausted listening to Rich whine.

"Shut up, Mini," Liv said, giving Mini a small shove. "Stop trying to make her remember and just try to make her fall in love with you again."

She gave him a comforting pat on his arm and Rich turned to Alo as the words Liv had been saying began to sink in. Why hadn't he thought of that? He had been so preoccupied with trying to make her remember that this had never even crossed his mind. He must have been so irritating the way he got frustrated so easily when she couldn't remember, so of course she wouldn't want anything more to do with him. He needed to act like this was a whole different girl and not his Grace, not the girl he had a past with.

"Yeah, you can do it… You did it before." Alo said with a reassuring grin and went up to the bar to get another round in.

The only problem was; was it too late? Had this stupid, flouncy, gay as fuck and ostentatious ballet dancer replaced Rich in Grace's heart?

* * *

><p>So, that last line is in Rich's POV… I have nothing against male ballet dancers!<p>

If I had to choose a song for this fic it would probably be the song I used at the beginning of the chapter. It fits this story so perfectly.

Sorry there's no hardlet interaction here, but Rich and Grace interaction again in the next chapter!

Hope you're all still enjoying; I know this is a filler chapter :P

TheCheeryCherry


	6. Chapter 6

This needs serious editing, but due to low battery on my macbook I had to upload quickly! I will edit it later on, so just bear with me for the moment!

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><p><em>Desperate for changing<em>

_Starving for truth_

_I'm closer to where I started_

_Chasing after you_

_I'm falling even more in love with you_

~ Hanging by a Moment, Lifehouse

* * *

><p>It took Rich far too long to come up with a plan to get Grace to fall back in love with him. Should he casually ask her out on a date? But she would most likely say no due to their last (sort-of) dates ending so terribly. Should he flirt with her? This suggestion was posed by Mini and it was quickly dropped when she realized he didn't have the faintest clue how to flirt.<p>

"Then how the hell did you manage to get her to like you in the first place? Because it couldn't have been for your natural charm." Mini had asked after half an hour of deciding how Rich should go about getting Grace to fall for him all over again. Nick was taking notes and had quickly crossed out 'flirting'. Mini was bitching more than helping and Alo seemed to be meditating for no particular reason.

Rich hadn't even wanted to meet up with the gang about Grace, but they had insisted. Apparently they didn't trust him to do a good job.

Rich muttered some particularly harsh insult under his breath, as Mini continued to say all the things Rich _shouldn't _do when attempting to 'woo' Grace.

"Maybe she liked his long hair." Franky said in an attempt to get some people to crack a smile. Mini had snorted, but Rich frowned deep in thought. The thing was Grace had loved his long hair, she had said so herself. But come on, what were the chances that his long hair was the reason she first liked Rich?

"Oooh!" Nick started animatedly. "How about you just give her food?"

Rich simply raised his eyebrows at Nick.

"I assume by 'give her food' you mean take her out to dinner? It's on the list already." Mini said roughly, while beginning to massage her temples as if Nick was personally contributing to her headache.

"Fucksake, Nick. What's even on here? Anything remotely usable?" Rich snatched the list and rolled his eyes at the contents. Nearly everything was crossed out and any other ideas were just plain horrid. How the hell was he supposed to do this?

Suddenly Alo sprang to life and started snapping his fingers excitedly.

"I've got it!" The members of the gang turned to face him, and Rich prayed this was something good.

"This better be fucking good, Farmboy." Mini mumbled in an annoyed tone, and for once Rich could wholeheartedly agree with her.

"Well, you said it had to be casual, but it had to make her start to see you differently. Right?" Rich slowly nodded, hoping this was heading in the right direction.

"How about Fuck Norris goes public? We could have a gig somewhere and invite her along _casually._" Rich's eyes lit up at this idea and Alo grinned when he noticed this.

"What if she says no?" Mini asked. Rich's face immediately fell and he started to chew on his lower lip.

"We'll convince her to go." Liv said reassuringly.

"My Ma is away this weekend, what better time to do it?" Alo said and the plan began to form.

The gang started sending out texts to everyone they knew to invite them to the gig at Alo's farm and Rich set off to find Grace.

* * *

><p>He found her during his free period at College Green. She was sitting on a bench with her back perfectly straight. She looked beautiful with her hair down and in a mid-length blue polka-dot dress. He was walking towards the bench from behind and his heart was pounding hard against his chest. He hadn't spoken to her for nearly three weeks now; how far had things gone with the Ballet douche?<p>

He warily walked around the side of the bench and plunked himself down next to her, careful not to sit too close to her. She turned around to see who interrupted her private moment and blinked several times when she saw it was him.

"Hey," He said, trying to remember why he came here.

"Oh, hi Rich," She tried to smile, but it seemed a little forced. "What are you doing here?"

_What am I doing here?_

"Just… uh… how are you?" He smiled awkwardly, and started twisting the wire of his headphones around his fingers. He didn't want to concentrate on her scrutinizing expression or the fact that he could smell her favorite perfume, which had quickly become his favorite smell.

"I'm fine, how are you?" Rich just nodded in response and put one thumb up to say he was good. He wanted to kick himself for being so bloody tongue-tied.

How could he have spent nearly a year dating this girl and yet suddenly be so nervous again, as if he was asking her out for the first time?

Grace sucked on her lips and turned to look at the street ahead of them before speaking again. "I'm waiting for someone, so if you have something to say…?"

She said it pleasantly enough, but Rich's hands automatically clenched into fists. He said in his most derisive voice,

"The guy from ballet class?" The way he said it made Grace snap her head up in his direction. For the first time he looked at her directly in the eye and it made her blush furiously.

"Yes…" She said slowly, "How do you know -"

"So, you're dating this… this… guy?" Mini and Liv had specifically warned him not to bring up the Ballet guy, but now he couldn't help himself.

"No, we're…" Her voice drifted off as if she had just remembered something. _They're not dating! _Rich saw the tiniest glimmer of hope and held on tight to it. When he spoke next he tried to sound cool and nonchalant, but he was sure she could notice his palms were sweating.

"Anyway, Alo and I are in a band… We're having a gig tomorrow night, so if you want, you know, you can come." Grace smirked up at him.

"Won't it be some Metal rubbish?" He stared at her for the longest moment before laughing. She had said something very similar during summer… Was there a chance she could remember the holiday in Morocco?

"Oh, sorry, but I can't go." She sighed a little as if she didn't want to tell Rich this. "Liam and I are friends, but we're having our first kind of date tomorrow. If my Dad allows us."

"Great…" Rich said grouchily and slumped back in his seat. Grace opened her mouth to say something, but then shut it again.

"Maybe Liam and I could come to see your gig?" She suggested. Typical Grace trying to make everyone happy, but she had no idea how Rich would actually feel if he saw her there with this twat.

"No, you're alright." Rich said, biting down on his lip in order not to say anything harsh.

"Where is it? Maybe I could come by after our date." Rich gave an involuntarily shake at the sound of the word 'date', but found himself falling more in love with Grace because she somehow knew he wouldn't want to see her and Mr. Ballet together.

"Alo's farm… But don't bother, it's fine."

"I remember how to get there." She said just as casually as if she was saying she just ate lunch.

"Wh-what?" This was heard on deaf ears though, as this flouncing male ballerina appeared on the other side of the street. He looked just how Rich had expected him to look; a pompous git with muscles. He couldn't compete with that at all.

Liam waved over at Grace and she smiled her signature smile and stood up.

It only took a few seconds for Rich to accept what was happening and to let go. Seeing her so happy made him understand that he should just let her go now. She can't remember him and he should stop forcing her into remembering or forcing her to like him again. She was happy with this prick, so he should let her be happy. Maybe she would remember one day and want to come back to him. Or maybe she would stay with Liam forever, but Rich had to hold on to the hope that she would one day come back to him.

"Uh… don't worry I won't bug you anymore. I'll give you space." Grace looked surprised and her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. That expression confused him and made him wonder if she wanted him to continue bugging her, but he reminded himself that this is what they both needed; space.

"Oh, okay." She was still standing opposite him, but slowly turning around to leave. She stopped and slowly began to say something else. "When you're ready, we can be friends? And if I _ever_ remember… well, then we'll see what happens."

There was the note of a promise in her voice that made Rich sure he was doing the right thing. She was remembering, even if she didn't realize it. She knew where Alo's farm was… This raised so many other questions about what she knew, but Rich bit his tongue to avoid the string of questions regarding her memory that were bound to come out.

"Alright." He said simply and she really turned to leave this time.

"Have fun with Leo then!" He called out. He knew his name was Liam, but he took some joy in saying his name wrong. Grace looked back a Rich over her shoulder with a grin, as if she wanted to say "Don't be silly, Richard!" She turned back giggling and ran over to her ballerina boyfriend.

Rich smiled, because for some reason he finally felt closure. He didn't know what would happen between them in the future, but he did know that this was what was best for them right now. For once he felt like he was doing the right thing.

* * *

><p>Grace got back from her ballet class feeling completely drained of energy. She elegantly stretched as she shut the front door behind her.<p>

Liam had made a habit of dropping her back home and today he drove her home. It was quite exciting having a boy drop her home in his ride. She almost let him kiss her, but only almost. He had leant over to her, as she undid her seatbelt and when she looked at him his lips were only a few centimetres away from hers. Her heart started to beat against her ribs manically and she let him move ever so slightly closer to her, but at the last moment she pulled away from him. He seemed a little taken aback, but just let her go.

Grace still wasn't sure what had happened there…. Why had she pulled away from him? It definitely wasn't due to the fact that she remembered something about Rich. It couldn't possibly be that.

The memory had sprung into her head so randomly that she thought she made it up herself, but it felt real and she even tested the line on Rich earlier to see the reaction he would give. It was on a roof and Rich was moaning about something, which really wasn't a surprise, but he turned around, saw her and instantly stopped. He told her she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Admittedly this still gave Grace goosebumps just thinking about it and she didn't even have romantic feelings for this guy. She had sung him a song; a song which was now stuck in her head. It was so romantic and made Grace crave memories that she shared with him…

She shook the thought of Rich out of her head. That really wasn't the reason for not kissing Liam; Rich didn't mean anything to her. There would be plenty of kissing tomorrow if she could get her father's approval.

She took a deep breath before walking into the dining room, where she assumed he would be sitting.

"Gracie!" Her father exclaimed when she entered. She smiled as brightly she could; she had to switch into her 'perfect daughter' mode as soon as possible. "You're looking a little flushed, are you alright?"

"Of course. It was just a long day." Her father put his paper down to examine her more, as Grace took the seat opposite him.

"Hmmm…" He mumbled cynically. "I knew you shouldn't have started Ballet again so soon."

Grace rolled her eyes a little at her father's concern.

"Really, it's fine Daddy." Now was the right and perfect moment to tell her father about Liam. "So… there's this very nice boy in my Ballet class, who would like to have a date with me tomorrow night."

She winced in anticipation for his reaction. David Blood had to hold back a smile; finally he could get rid of Rich once and for all if she wanted to date this boy from Ballet class. Anyone was better than Rich, he thought with a little shudder.

"Where?" He asked simply and Grace almost laughed in confusion. This was definitely not the reaction she had expected.

"The Italian restaurant you always take me to." She said, her father narrowed his eyes at her once more.

"I've never taken you to an Italian restaurant before." Grace crinkled her nose in confusion, but then laughed again.

"How come I remember the Italian restaurant then?" He began to check her temperature and asked her several questions about the restaurant, which Grace didn't know the answer to. It was decided that she was just confused and had never visited the restaurant before.

Grace agreed that she must just be confused, but she felt like she knew the place. Who had taken her there before? She kept saying random things like this, but had no idea how she knew them. Earlier she had told Rich she knew where Alo's farm was, but Grace was entirely sure how she knew this herself.

Also she still had terrible dreams at night about the accident. It made her scared to sleep.

"I think I'll go to bed now." Grace muttered, holding her head as if it might just roll off at any moment. She knew she wouldn't be able to sleep though. It took her usually around four hours to fall asleep, because she was so frightened about what awaited her in the dreams.

Suddenly remembering the purpose of the conversation with her father, she twirled on the spot so she was facing him once more. "Oh, Dad? About the date?"

He sighed and placed his paper back on the table. "Fine, but only if you feel better."

She grinned and quickly pecked her father on the cheek.

Now she was going to have a fantastic date filled with kisses with her very own Prince Charming. It would be perfect, right?

* * *

><p>I bet this is really confusing right now. Basically Grace remembers things (like she had the dream in chapter 2), but she doesn't know why she knows these things and doesn't know when they happened. She will start to have more organized memories in the upcoming chapters, so hopefully it gets easier. I obviously know nothing about how amnesia works, so I'm just playing around with the idea.<p>

Wow, you guys are seriously spoiling me with the compliments! I'm so scared you're going to stop liking it, haha. Oh, and hey Di from fanforum!

So next chapter and the chapter afterwards are going to have quite a few references and similarities with 6x02, but in a good way… hopefully!

Keep reading/reviewing/alerting and whatever else you want to do.

Sorry, this note was way TOO long! I'll keep it short next time ;)

Thanks,

TheCheeryCherry


	7. Chapter 7

_Turn around and you're walking towards me_

_I'm breaking down and you're breathing slowly_

_You say the word and I'll be your man, your man._

_Say when and my own two hands_

_Will comfort you tonight, tonight_

_Say when and my own two arms_

_Will carry you tonight, tonight. _

~ Say When – The Fray

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><p>Her heart started thumping against her chest as the car pulled outside the restaurant's exterior.<p>

"Well, here we are." Liam said, beaming at her. She tried to turn her facial expression from one of distress to one of excitement.

"Oh, great!" She said in tones of fake enthusiasm. He seemed totally oblivious to her discomfort though, as he got out of the car and ran around to the other side to let her out. He reached his hand out to grab hers just like a perfect gentleman and Grace timidly held onto his hand.

He walked her over to the entrance and Grace zoned out for a while until they were walking to their table. She smoothed over her tight, black dress before sitting down.

They were sitting at probably the most romantic table in the restaurant. It was dimly lit with a few candles making it a perfect romantic setting. Also their chairs were so close to each other that their arms kept brushing each other.

Unfortunately Grace wasn't in a very romantic mood and was already checking her watch to see how long it had taken them to drive over here. She tutted at herself for being so rude; she should be nervously excitedly for this date, but her head had been far more preoccupied with the memory she had of Rich and about how she remembered this restaurant.

She glanced around herself and she wasn't surprised that she recognized everything in the restaurant, apart from whom she was sitting with when she had come here before.

"Are you alright, Grace?" She shook her head a little to bring herself back to the present moment and gave her best smile to Liam who was looking at her with a little concern.

"I'm fine." He still narrowed his eyes at her, unconvinced. "Really." She said, giving him a small pat on his arm in reassurance.

"Okay, I believe you," He said with his signature smirk that made his blue eyes light up. "A breadstick for you, my lady?"

"Yes please, my Lord." She said, giggling as she took the breadstick from his hand. She happily bit into it and the taste was very familiar to her, as was expected. Liam picked up the brown, healthy bread and began buttering it. Before Grace knew what she was actually saying, she said;

"Rich says those are disgusting and only for supercilious, gullible twats." She froze with the breadstick slowly crumbling in her hand. Liam stared at her for a few moments before bursting out into disbelieving laughter.

When the hell did Rich tell her that? They never had a conversation about bread before… Oh yes, they had. And it had been right at this restaurant. Grace suddenly remembered the events of that night. She was starving and he insisted they just grab a burger before going back to his place. Then she had seen this little, Italian restaurant and begged Rich to take her there. He had reluctantly agreed and moaned the whole time about how expensive this place was and how shit the music was. However he smiled every time she told him he was being silly or started giving a long rant about the Harry Potter series or her favorite musical. When the bread was placed on the table, he had told her she better not be taking the brown bread, because they were for 'supercilious, gullible twats who preach about healthy eating, but go out for benders every other night'. She had rolled her eyes at him and purposefully ate the brown bread to annoy him. He had tempted her with the breadstick and eventually Grace gave up trying to eat the bread, because she didn't really like it.

Then they were kissing and it -

"Grace? Grace?" She had no idea how long she had been remembering about that, but she restrained herself from grinning from the happy memory. "Who's Rich?"

"Oh… My dog." Liam raised his eyebrows with a laugh and Grace shook her head quickly. "Haha... I meant cousin, twice removed."

She realized she couldn't stay here a moment longer.

Grace appreciated the fact that she was a pretty good actor when she clasped her hand to her mouth quite suddenly and widened her eyes in terror.

"Ugh… I think – I think I'm going to be sick." She nearly shouted and before Liam could say anything she had ran off to the bathroom.

Once she once inside, she took out her phone and searched through her old photos. There were plenty taken of her and Rich kissing, which made her feel giddy, but she couldn't remember those events. She desperately searched through the photos, trying to remember something else, but she couldn't…

Why did she feel so bad about it? Up until a few days ago she had seen him as just a boy she couldn't really stand. Now though… now he was something that felt right, someone she clearly had a past with and maybe her Father was wrong… Maybe they were good for each other.

She was even more confused now that she had a few clear memories of Rich than when she had no clue he was. She shoved her phone in her bag and double-checked her appearance in the mirror. She could pass for being sick, she thought.

* * *

><p><em>What am I turning into? I'm a horrible, horrible person. <em>She could not believe she was ditching her date with her supposed Prince Charming for someone she had an unknown past with. Even though she knew she was being a terrible person, she walked up to Liam and said the line she had just rehearsed in her head.

"I was just sick…" She said, clutching her stomach and trying to look as if she was in serious pain. Liam had the reaction she was hoping for; he stood up and put his arm around her.

"Do you want to go home?" She frowned at this question as if she really didn't want to leave their date and slowly nodded her head.

"I'm so sorry, Liam. I wish I wasn't feeling unwell."

"Don't worry about it. I'll drop you home." Grace widened her eyes. Of course he would want to drop her home, because he was a perfect gentleman. She shook her head wildly at him and realized she would have to come up with a reasonably valid explanation.

"Umm… no need. I can take a taxi. There are lots of them in this area." She gave a small smile and Liam sighed reluctantly.

"Okay, but ring me when you get back okay?" He went to kiss her, but Grace glanced downwards so he could only kiss her forehead. It felt wrong just the thought of kissing him… It was as if she would be betraying someone if she did that. She desperately needed to get answers by seeing Rich.

She left Liam in the restaurant, trying to ignore the feeling that she was a bad person and got herself a taxi. She told the address for the farm, which she still didn't know why she knew.

* * *

><p>So it turned out gigs were nearly impossible to cancel once you had invited people to attend. Rich had no idea how proper musicians managed to cancel their gigs with such ease… Well maybe it wasn't because they were going around saying, 'My parents are away for the weekend, so let's party!' Yeah, thanks a fucking lot Alo.<p>

Now Rich was on a small set-up stage in the crowded living room at Alo's house playing one of Fuck Norris' tunes. He was pretty much enjoying himself and was able to just forget his troubles and smile and laugh along with everyone else.

Then he saw her…

She looked like a vision, an angel standing in the middle of the crowd of jumping bodies, motionlessly staring up at him. When she saw him stop singing and stare back at her, she shyly smiled. Then she disappeared back through the crowd towards the door. Rich had no idea what he was supposed to do. What the hell was she doing here?

He turned briefly to Alo, who was nodding in the direction of the door. He smiled encouragingly at Rich, as if just urging him on to find her. That was the whole point of the gig anyway, right?

He jumped off the stage into the pit of thriving bodies and pushed his way through them. He shouted out her name incase she could hear through the pumping music. He got out into the corridor that lead straight to the front door and saw her moving towards it.

"Grace?" He asked as softly as he could with his voice still being able to be heard. She turned around slowly and smiled at him.  
>"I was going to leave… I shouldn't have come." She stared at her fingernails, trying to avoid his eyes.<p>

"I thought you had a date?" He asked, stepping closer to her.

"Yes, I did, but… Well, it finished early. I really need to talk to you, Richard." She finally looked up at him with pleading eyes. Rich sighed and crinkled his nose in confusion.

"Uh… I thought we were giving each other space." He said, while shoving a hand through his hair roughly. She continued staring at him with pleading eyes.

"Please." He couldn't say no to that and just walked off towards the stairs. When he turned around she was staring after him like a lost doll.

"You coming then?" He asked softly. Her eyes seemed to light up slightly, but Rich tried to ignore that.

He took her into Alo's room, which was currently empty. Rich shook his head at the porn poster covered walls and went to stand awkwardly near the bed. Grace looked more nervous though; wringing her hands together and still chewing on her lip so hard it looked like it might start bleeding.

"You were playing well…" She said, sounding kind of distant as if she wasn't thinking about the gig at all.

"Uh yeah… We were going to cancel it, but couldn't." Grace glanced up at him with furrowed eyebrows before asking,

"Why would you need to cancel it?" Rich stared at his feet and began to scratch the back of his neck, so he had something to do.

"Well, we were just going to do it… uh… because we thought you were coming." Grace slowly began to smile and her eyes were really brightening now.

"You planned all this for me?" She asked in bewilderment, the smile truly widening so you could see her gleaming white teeth.

Rich gave an awkward, tight-lipped smile in return and Grace's smile fell a bit.

"I'm sorry I came here, but I am so confused." She shook her head and went to sit down on the bed, but stopped herself and stayed standing awkwardly.

"I knew how to get to this place, but I have no idea how." Rich nodded slowly, because it didn't surprise him at all. He stuck his hands in his pockets and stared at her until she continued.

"And I went to the restaurant we went to once. I just remembered when I was sitting there." Rich raised his eyebrows a little in surprise and Grace nodded eagerly to confirm that this was true.

"Plus I saw us in Morocco… I was singing to you and you said I was the most beautiful girl you had ever seen." She licked her lips before continuing. "Is that true?"

She whispered the question, as if she didn't really want Rich to hear it. He simply sighed, feeling frustrated with these mixed signals he was getting.

"Grace… what are you doing? I thought we -"

"I know, I know! I just feel… so stupid. I just remembered those things and I wanted to tell you more than anything else. I left my date to see you, for fuck-" She was jabbing a finger angrily in his direction before one tear fell gradually down her cheek.

Rich was blinking in shock at this outburst and moved cautiously closer towards her.

"You're not stupid… at all." He said as softly as he could. He pulled the sleeve of his shirt down so it covered his hand and wiped away the tear on her cheek. When he realized what he was doing he pulled his hand away abruptly. She wasn't his girlfriend anymore… he couldn't just do that.

She closed her eyes for a moment and let her skin shiver from his faintest touch. She took one step closer towards him and tilted her head slightly. She had to stand on tiptoe, so she became very thankful for her ballet classes in that moment.

She pressed her lips against his for no more than a second, but she remained ever so close to him with her lips lingering just over his.

It was such a short kiss, but Grace managed to remember their first kiss and it had lasted the same amount of time. They were both awkward then like they were now. She wanted to remember more memories; she wanted Rich to kiss her back.

It took him a few seconds to respond, which made Grace panic and she almost moved away from him, but he suddenly pushed his lips against hers in a much more frantic, desperate way than she had. Her skin was tingling from head to toe and she didn't want it to stop.

He moved his arms from his side and wrapped them around her, so he was holding onto her tightly. His arms were getting caught up in her dress and her hair. She strangely felt like she knew what she was doing and placed her arms around his neck with one hand grasping his hair.

Next thing she knew he was gently bringing her towards the bed and placing her down on it's soft, welcoming surface. He began to explore other parts than her lips - her neck, behind her ear and her collarbone area.

He unbuttoned the first button on her dress before she sat up slightly and tried to say something despite her breathlessness.

"Wait… I've never -" She stared at him with her huge, innocent eyes and he just smirked at her in a way that made Grace's pulse race.

"Oh, we have…right?" She said, now smirking herself. She was still leaning on her elbows and not lying back down. Rich noticed her sudden restraint and gently touched her chin with two of his fingers.

"We don't have to do anything… Okay?" He was smiling the most sincerest and sweetest smile she had seen from him since her accident, which she hadn't thought was possible until now. She sucked on her lower lip before replying.

"Sorry… Can we just stay here?" He nodded and Grace moved so she could put her head on the pillow. He lay right next to her – right where she wanted him – and put his arm loosely over her. She pulled his arm around her tighter. His face was lying side-by-side to hers and he kissed her cheek briefly.

"Are you tired?" He asked quietly. His breath was tickling her neck that she had to bite down on her lip to stop herself from giggling.

"I can't sleep at night… I always dream about the accident; it scares me." There was a moment's pause before Rich replied.

"You remember it?" Grace mumbled something vague, so nodded her head to make sure Rich knew her answer.

"I'm here now… I'll tell those dreams to sod off." Grace couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of what he had just said and she felt Rich laughing right next to her.

The truth was she could sleep that night. Wrapped up in his arms she had the best night's sleep of her life.

* * *

><p>SORRY, I got so carried away with the lyrics, but they were so perfect I couldn't resist. I was going to use 'Don't You Worry' for the song for this chapter, but this one actually seems more fitting. :)<p>

I'm sure you all knew where this chapter was heading with the lyrics too ;) And it's about time too, right? Hah… I'm sorry that the kissing stuff is so awkward, but that was just difficult to write :P

And hey let's try to get to 50 reviews by the time this fic ends! That's going to be my goal, so if you've never reviewed this story before, please consider doing so! I love reading all your reviews; they bring the hugest smile to my face! :D

TheCheeryCherry


	8. Chapter 8

Bah, don't know how I feel about this chapter, but hopefully you guys like it!

_And I've lost who I am_

_And I can't understand_

_Why my heart is so broken_

_Rejecting your love_

~ Trading Yesterday – Shattered

Well, it had been a near perfect night's sleep… She had a dream about a time with Rich that she didn't particularly like. He was telling her he didn't know who she was and ultimately telling her she was fake. She remembered it so clearly, but had no idea when it had happened.

She opened her eyes, blinking several times to adjust to the morning light, and felt the pressure of someone resting their arm over her waist. She couldn't turn around completely, so just turned her head slightly and could see Rich sleeping with his mouth wide open. She half-smiled at this sight and considered staying there wrapped up in his arms where it was welcoming and warm. However her dream was more confusing her…

Was her Dad correct all along in saying they weren't good for each other and it was a bad relationship? No, he couldn't be. Grace only doubted that her and Rich had a great relationship slightly, but one thing Grace knew for certain was that she needed to get her memories in order and she needed to remember _everything. _

_Shit,_ she thought as she tried to wriggle out from under Rich's arm, _I shouldn't have come here in the first place… This is just making things even more complicated._

Once she was free from his embrace, she stood hovering over him. He was lightly snoring; did he always snore when he slept or was it just Grace's imagination? She shook her head, hating herself for the hundredth time that morning; she should have only come when she was sure she knew exactly who he was and what they were.

With a guilty heart she put her shoes on as quietly as she could and approached the door. She turned back once more and wondered whether she should give him a kiss or not, but thought against it because he might wake up.

When she got out into the hallway she ran down the stairs and was about to leave out the front door before she heard someone excitedly call her name.

"Grace!" She yelped in shock and threw her hand over her mouth to muffle the shriek she had let out. She swiveled around and saw Alo standing in the doorway to the kitchen in just a pair of pants and holding a frying pan.

"Oh… hello." She said once she had gotten her breath back. Alo took in her slightly disheveled appearance and smirked.

"I had to sleep on the couch last night because of you two." Grace reddened at the memory of last night, but didn't say anything.

"Fry-up?" He asked, while gesturing to his frying pan. "You can call the lazy git down too."

Grace shook her head before replying.

"No… Thank you, but I really can't stay." Alo was still smiling for a moment, but then he seemed to realize what was going on.

"Does Rich know you're leaving?" Alo said it with such intense eye contact that Grace knew it wasn't just a casual question.

"Look Alo, this is very complicated and -"

"What are you doing to him? You're messing him about." Grace tried to look anywhere but at Alo's face and closed her eyes in an attempt to stop tears coming.

"I don't mean to…" She said quietly that it came out in almost a whisper. "Please just tell him that."

Alo just stared at her and Grace took it as a sign that she could leave. When she shut the front door behind her, she inhaled the fresh air, wiped a tear from her face and began her long walk to the nearest bus stop.

* * *

><p>Rich squinted his eyes in the bright light and saw Alo hunched over him, trying to shake him awake.<p>

"What?" He groaned, while rolling over in bed and throwing his arm over Grace… Rich shot up into a sitting position as he realized that Grace wasn't even there. He frowned and looked around him, as if he thought she could be hiding somewhere. He didn't want to accept the fact that she had just gone, so he looked at Alo with a confused expression.  
>"Where is she?" Alo went to his closet to put on a shirt, so when he replied he didn't have to face Rich and the disappointment that was bound to come.<p>

"Uh… she just left." Rich was now standing up, walking closer to Alo.

"What?" He asked, trying to pull Alo round to face him.

"She's gone!" Alo slightly raised his voice, but felt bad immediately afterwards so placed a hand on Rich's shoulder in a kind of comforting way. "Sorry mate."

Rich just stood there, looking from left to right; trying to process the fact that she had gone and didn't tell him. He took out his phone from his back pocket and looked up her number on his contacts.

Alo sighed as he did so, because he knew this wasn't going to end well. Rich ignored him and after two long rings, Grace picked up.

"Grace?" Rich asked, and Grace seemed to sigh on the other end of the line.

"Yes… I'm sorry, I had to go." She sounded like she was close to crying and Rich wish he was with her right now so he could just be next to her.

"Yeah, why? Look where are you? I can come -" He couldn't hide the near desperation and determination out of his voice.

"No, Rich. I shouldn't have come last night. I don't remember -"

"Yes, you do! I know you do and you love me." Alo was staring at Rich with a worried expression and didn't know whether he should just hang up the phone himself to stop Rich going through this shit or just let it run its' course.

"Please, Rich. Please stop. I remember some things, but I want to remember you completely or this won't be fair to you… You know it won't be." She was pleading with him and Rich finally gave up.

"Fine… I don't fucking care if you don't remember though, so if that's what you're thinking…"

"I don't think that." She exhaled, not knowing whether she should tell him about the dream she had of him last night or to just end it like it like that.

"Well, I love you… so much. Just know that, okay?" Rich said softly and Grace closed her eyes and nodded, forgetting for a second that he couldn't hear her. He hung up the phone before Grace could reply.

"I think I love you too." Grace mumbled before putting her phone back into her bag. She glanced around her and saw some people sitting near her on the bus giving her weird looks. She shook her head and checked through her missed calls - seven in total. There was one from Mini, one from Franky, two from Liam and three from her father. _Back to reality, _she thought sullenly.

* * *

><p>When she got to her front door, she contemplated turning back around and running away from everything. But she knew she was going to have to face her father sometime. Now was as good a time as any.<p>

She opened the door slowly, removed her shoes and padded softly towards the stairs.

"And where exactly have you been, Grace?" Her heart sunk when she heard her father's raised voice coming from the dining room. She turned her head slightly in that direction and saw him staring at her in the most disapproving way possible. She trudged over to him sulkily with her head down.

"Well, I'm waiting for an answer." He said once Grace was standing before him. She began to examine her hands and drew little circles in them to try and escape the reality she was faced with.

"I was… " Grace began, but stopped and a long, awkward silence remained.

"Liam rang the house number yesterday night asking if you were feeling better. Now where were you?" He stood up so he was now towering over her in a slightly menacing way. Grace stared at her feet so she didn't have to look up at her father.

"Well," Grace started slowly. "I was with Rich."

Her father turned to look at the ceiling and muttered some inaudible words under his breath. Grace knew it wasn't probably the best idea to tell him the truth, but she felt it was the right thing to do.

"Ah, yes… So he has worked his way back into your head with his malicious, vindictive and mutinous ways?" Grace pulled a face to express bewilderment.

"Honestly dad, he's not that bad…" It was too late though; her father was pacing the room.

"I thought you wouldn't want to see him anymore after what I told you."

Her recently remembered memory popped up into her head and she slumped her shoulders.

_I don't know who you are…. So, you're saying I'm fake?_

"Yes, you were right Dad." She turned and left her father standing there, completely perplexed by what she had just said.

Grace trudged up the stairs and tried to work out whether she truly believed her father was right or not. There was only one way she could really answer that….

When she entered her room, she pulled out a box from under her bed. This box was filled with stuff she hadn't wanted to look at. She heaved the box up onto her bed and sat in front of it in a cross-legged position. With a deep breath she took off the lid and emptied the contents. The box was filled with photos; some of her and Rich, with friends and some with her parents.

She was now ready to remember. She had figured that if she knew some events then she could remember things that were linked to the events she remembered. For example she could remember her first kiss with Rich. This memory was linked to the memory of walking in the fashion show with Alo and the fact that she wasn't entirely happy with Mini at the time.

She now focused on certain photos and was slightly pleased when she recognized them and she began to stick the photos in a scrapbook where she could take notes of what was happening in the photos. Her memory was like a jigsaw and she had to just find the missing pieces.

She was remembering and she felt like she was falling in love with Rich all over again. However she didn't remember all the events and some were jumbled up in the wrong order; she still didn't know the story from start to finish.

* * *

><p>The ending sucks for this chapter, but hopefully you like the stuff that comes before that.<p>

Anyway I received some really great reviews for last chapter and even had a compliment about it on tumblr :D So thanks again for that if you're reading!

Two chapters left, let's get to 50 reviews! No G/R interaction in the next chapter, but hopefully ch.10 will make up for that ;)

Oh, and there's a hardlet fanfic challenge on tumblr, so I will probably be writing a one-shot for that over the weekend as well. :P Just to let you know!

Thanks,

TheCheeryCherry x


	9. Chapter 9

_Shades of wine, love keeps dancing through my mind_

_No I can't escape this time all because of you_

_Yesterday, love was just a word to say_

_Overnight a holiday, all because of you_

Francoise Hardy (/Jess Sula cover) – All Because of You

* * *

><p>She could see the back of him through the café's window and psyched herself to go inside. When she opened the door there was a small chiming sound, which caused the boy to turn around and look in the direction of the door. Grace gave a tiny smile and approached his table. He looked fairly concerned when he realized it was her and looked itching to say something. When Grace was standing opposite him and pulling out a chair for her to sit on, she softly said,<p>

"Hi Liam."

After spending a few good hours scrapbooking her memories, she had decided it was time to tie the loose ends before she could fully decide what she wanted to do. She wasn't proud of herself for leaving Liam at the date and that was only one out of many things she wasn't proud of in the past twenty-four hours.

Liam leaned over the table to put an emphasis on his next words of concern.

"What happened to you? I was worried…" Grace sighed and began chewing on her lip as she figured out to tell Liam the truth.

"I am _so_ sorry, Liam," She began, trying to ignore the fact that her voice was trembling. "I was in an accident during the summer and I lost a bit of my memory."

Liam looked more than confused, but Grace continued on.

"I had a boyfriend, who I couldn't remember, and I wanted to escape all of that and all the things I couldn't remember. You were there and you let me… pretend I was in some sort of fairytale… but I can't pretend anymore."

Liam exhaled deeply and ran a hand through his hair. His signature smirk was nowhere to be seen right now and Grace waited for the questions that were bound to come.

"Shit… So that's why your face was all…" He gestured on his own face to where the scar had been on hers. It had faded slightly now and was barely visible. Grace nodded and listened to a few more mutterings from his side of the table.

"So… what do you remember now?"

"Quite a lot now… It's just the order of events that is confusing me." She explained while using hand gestures. She had to tone down her excitement over being to remember so much, because he wouldn't exactly be thrilled over what she remembered.

"And your boyfriend?" There was a sense of lingering hope in his question and Grace licked her lips before continuing.  
>"I remember him and everything that we had." She said it as simply as she could while trying to hide her emotion.<p>

"Right…" He stared down at his empty cup of tea and played with a packet of sugar. He emptied the packet and started drawing patterns with it on the table.

"I am truly sorry about everything… What I did was horrible -" He half-scoffed at her statement.

"Come on, you shouldn't be apologizing. You couldn't remember anything." Grace shrugged helplessly and continued on with her apology.

"Maybe things won't work with Rich and maybe in the future we can -" He gave a sad smile and placed his hand on top of hers.

"Let's just be friends, okay?" Grace looked up into his face with disbelief. Could she really be forgiven this easily? She nodded at him and he put his coat on.

"Look I've got to go, but you should try and sort everything out." Grace smiled and said her goodbyes to him.

Now she had to just figure everything out.

* * *

><p>She found herself sitting on a park bench watching some ducks stealing pieces of bread from each other. She always loved watching the ducks and feeding them too.<p>

She remembered dragging Rich along with her one time and it made her lips spread out into a wide smile. It had started off an argument, naturally, but ended with him happily feeding the ducks with her. She had named one Quack and he had rebutted by naming one of them Twat, because it kept trying to bite his boot. She had rolled his eyes at him, but he had quickly made up for that name by naming a cute, little duckling Grace.

"Grace?" A soft, female voice asked. Grace turned her head sharply in the direction of the voice and smiled a little when she saw who it was.

"Oh, hi Franks." Franky smiled and gave a little wave. She went to sit next to Grace and she stared off at the duck pond just like Grace was doing before.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Franky asked, still staring off at the pond.

"Just thinking." Grace said with a small dreamy sigh. "How about you?"

"I live near here… Did you forget that?" Grace scrunched her nose in deep thought then her expression calmed after a second.

"You live down that way, right?" Grace pointed in the opposite direction from the way Franky had just come from. Franky nodded and Grace couldn't help but feel proud of herself for remembering that.

"I actually need to talk to you about something." Franky asked after a short moment of silence. Grace tilted her head to show she was listening. "About the accident."

Grace closed her eyes tightly for a moment before opening them. She still hated talking or hearing about the accident. She still liked to pretend it never happened, which was difficult now that she was remembering more and more.

"I'm sorry Gracie… I really am." Grace shook her head in confusion and was about to say something when she noticed the tears welling up in Franky's eyes. Grace went to hug Franky and she let Grace hug her.

"What's wrong?" Grace whispered into Franky's ear. Franky pushed herself away from Grace and now there were a few tears rolling down her cheeks.

"It was kind of my fault… There was this guy… Matty was just chasing after us… You got in the middle of it, because you were trying to fix things, because that's what you do."

Grace brushed the tears from Franky's cheeks with her thumbs and then took a voice that a Mother might take when trying to console their children.

"It's called an accident for a reason, you know. I don't blame anyone." She gave Franky one more quick hug before trying to get Franky to smile again. "Can we just forget it. Please?"

Franky quickly nodded and rubbed her nose with the back of her hand.

"What's that?" Franky asked, pointing at the book resting in Grace's lap. Grace had forgotten that she had taken her scrapbook out to glance over the photos of her and Rich.

"I made a scrapbook to note down all the stuff I could remember." Franky, her interest piqued, took the book and started to flip through it.

"So… you remember him then?" Grace nodded with a sad smile.

"I think I love him." She said quietly and Franky furrowed her brow in her direction.

"And?"

"And… and I can't remember things in the right order. We almost got married. He told me I'm fake. He told me ballet is just for gays and grannies!" She nearly shouted at the end of the sentence. She was still pretty angered by that memory.

"Well, it definitely didn't happen in that order." Franky said, laughing a bit at Grace.

"I know, I know. I suppose I just have to wait even more before I can remember everything logically." Grace was pouting like a little school kid with her arms folded across her chest as well. "I don't want to wait anymore."

She just wanted to be with Rich… or did she? He might not even want her back after the way she acted. I mean leaving him in the bed before he woke up… that was one of the other things Grace wasn't proud of doing.

Franky continued flicking through the scrapbook and smiling at some things now and again.

"Franky…" Grace started in a voice that suggested she was going to ask for a big favor. "You know most things about Rich and me, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so." Franky said with a small shrug.

"Well, I think I'm ready to hear the story of Richard Hardbeck and Grace Violet." She was finally about to do the thing she had been putting off for weeks, but it was time. She knew some spoilers though, but now it was time to hear the whole thing.

"Well…" Franky began, setting the book aside. "It all started with this girl in the library that Rich liked…"

Grace sat through the fifteen-minute story with mixed expressions of awe and bewilderment and happiness and many other things. The story went from opposites attract to a father who would never approve of their relationship to eloping to a summer holiday than ended in tragedy.

It was truly magical. And much better than any fairytale she had ever heard, because it was real.

_Maybe we can make our lives a story…_

* * *

><p>Woah, woah, woah… So what's going to happen now? Well, Grace may actually start obeying her father. And Rich might need an unlikely person to convince him to go get his girl. And there might be a very S5-reminiscent scene that paves the way to their happy ending. But hey those are all false story lines of course (not). ;)<p>

So put down your theories for what's going to happen in the last (and probably very long) chapter.

I can't believe I'm almost done writing this :'( I've really enjoyed it and of course I will be writing another multi-chapter rich/grace story one day soon! They are my muses.

Thanks,

TheCheeryCherry


	10. Chapter 10

_Ships are launching from my chest_

_Some have names but most do not_

_If you find one, please let me know what piece I've lost_

_Heal the scars from off my back_

_I don't need them anymore_

_You can throw them out or keep them in your mason jars_

_I've come home_

~Welcome Home, Radical Face

* * *

><p>Grace had dawdled all the way home. This was because she was about to do something that she wasn't sure would work.<p>

It was early evening and Grace was back at her front door, going over what she had to tell her father once she got inside. She knew everything from start to finish now and she wanted to do things right this time. Her father had never approved of their relationship and this might be one of the reasons her and Rich had had problems in the past… Well, yes it was the reason they had dealt with so many issues.

Her father wouldn't have made up stories about how Rich was growing obsessive over her and she was unhappy in the relationship, which seemed totally laughable now, if only he had approved. Also they wouldn't have broken up for a few hours that one time. Those few hours now seemed like nothing compared with how long they had been broken up now.

Yes, Grace was now seeking for her father's approval of her and Rich's relationship. She didn't want their love story affecting her relationship with her father anymore; it was the sensible thing to do. What if he said no? She had decided she wouldn't date Rich until he approved of it… This was the reason she was dreading this next conversation so much.

She realized it sounded as if she couldn't possibly care about Rich that much if she would wait for her father's approval before chasing after him. However she felt as if this proved her love for him in a more mature way than how she had previously loved him. Before she rebelled against her father and ran away with Rich, now she was going to try make her father understand her love for Rich and show that her relationship with Rich was never just a way to rebel against him; she had always genuinely loved him.

Of course it had killed her not going to visit Rich after her talk with Franky, or ring him or just even a simple text to tell him she loved him and she was trying to fix everything.

She opened her front door with a deep breath to calm her nerves. She could instantly hear the television in the living room, as she removed her dainty mary janes. She entered the living room while whispering a soothing mantra, '_You have to do this, Grace._' Her father's armchair faced away from her, so she could only see the back of his head, but she could see he watching the five o'clock news. She cleared her throat slightly.

"Oh, Gracie…" He said, turning around in his seat to see her face. Then he opened his mouth slightly and his eyebrows furrowed together in a mixture of concern and confusion. "So… feeling better after this morning?"

Grace just stared at him for a moment, but didn't respond in any way.

"Where's Mum?" She asked walking towards the television and switching it off manually.

"Uhmm… she's in the kitchen making dinner. Is everything alright?" He asked, making to stand up, but Grace gestured for him to stay sitting.

"I need to talk to you about something important." Grace started slowly. Her father then let out an irritated sigh.

"No, I will not have this." Grace widened her eyes in annoyance at David Blood's sharp tone.

"I haven't even told you what it's about yet!" He stood up and wagged a finger in Grace's face.

"I know exactly what this is about! It's about that low-life Richard Hardbeck." Grace considered running out of the room in that moment and forget about the whole thing completely, but she needed to stick it out.

"Yes, but Daddy… I remember everything now." Her dad seemed to stop in his tracks and he looked at her through narrowed eyes. "I know you were lying before."

"Yes, and I did that for your own good." She took a step closer to him and was on the verge of pleading. He remained still as a statue and Grace gathered that this might be a hopeless cause.

"I don't want to cause anymore trouble due to my relationship with Rich, so I have decided that I will only start dating him again with your approval." He seemed completely taken aback by her statement for a few seconds, but then composed himself once again.

"Of course I disapprove of this relationship. You are so much better than him; you need to be with someone like Liam Peters, not scum of the earth." Grace sniffed back tears.

"You are _so_ wrong, dad. He's better than me in so many ways and I'm just sad that you will never be able to see how good and kind a person he actually is! He helped me try and remember, whereas you just told me lies!" She turned and ran out of the room before her tears came flooding out. She stomped up the stairs, ignoring the calls from her father, and locked herself in her room.

When she entered she collapsed onto her bed and just lay there for a long time. No tears came even though she expected them; she had become too numb to cry.

Now and again she would reach for her phone and contemplate ringing Rich, but a promise was a promise…

_Screw that._

She picked up her phone and dialed for Rich and silently prayed he would pick up.

No answer.

* * *

><p>"Where's my fucking phone?" Rich yelled at Alo, who was dancing around in the living room to some crap techno music. Alo stared at him with his mouth open and Rich raised his eyebrows in a way to say, '<em>Well?<em>'

"Wasn't it in my room?" He asked, crinkling up his nose in confusion. Rich sighed and nodded simultaneously, then marched up the stairs.

His phone was lying on the bed and he snatched it up in one semi-smooth motion… Semi-smooth due to the fact that he tripped over one of Alo's shoes, but managed to keep himself steady.

"Ah… shit." He muttered when he saw his phone had just died. He was in the middle of nowhere without battery.

He sat there for a moment and took a cigarette out of his pocket. He was only staying here for another night, because Alo practically begged him to. Apparently he was feeling lonely staying at the farm by himself now. Honestly… His parents were going to be back the next morning.

He lit the cigarette and enjoyed the instant pain relief it gave him. Then he heard the downstairs door open and shut. He jumped up and ran down the stairs. For some ridiculous reason he thought it might be—

"What are you doing here?" He asked in a slightly disgusted tone as he saw the tall, blonde Mini McGuinness removing her too-high heels.

"Charming…" She said, looking up with a smirk. "Farmboy invited us."

"_Us_?" Great. Rich was going to have to deal with company then.

"Yeah… Liv, me, Nick and Franky. Problem?" She had finished taking off her shoes and started looking around the place with a sour expression. She stuck her arms by her side to avoid touching anything gross.

"No… Why would I have a problem with _that_?" Rich said in his most sarcastic voice possible. Mini looked ready to say something particularly harsh, but a loud voice stopped her.

"Minerva!" Alo shouted and came bounding out of the living room. He noticed Rich standing there with a frown and his arms loosely folded. "Oh… we're watching _Kill Bill_ or something like that."

Rich rolled his eyes and Mini took a bottle of vodka out of her bag. Alo snatched it from her and ran away once more. Mini let out a small laugh, but then noticed Rich stomping down the stairs with his grumpy as fuck expression.

"What happened with you and Grace last night?" She asked, a little softer than Rich had expected her to talk. He exhaled and made his way to the living room.

Mini threw up an arm to stop him.  
>"No you don't. Tell me! I've already tried ringing Grace, so you're going to tell me right now. Okay?" She was staring at him with threatening eyes and just because Rich didn't have the energy to argue he told her as simply as he could.<p>

"She was here. We kind of… kissed. Then she left the next morning." Mini wrinkled her forehead and sucked on the inside of her cheeks.

"So why do you look like you stepped in dog shit?" She said in a deadpan voice.

"_Because _she said she shouldn't have come in the first place… That we're over until she can remember everything." Mini raised her eyebrows.

"That might take a really fucking long time." She began to chew on one of her fingernails and Rich just nodded in agreement. "So that's it then, is it?"

"Uh… yeah. I'll just wait for her." Mini sighed a little and then gave a little smile.

"You know Grace would always annoy the hell out of me when she would go on about this one really romantic night…" She started off by saying and stood a little bit further away from Rich. "The night you proposed to her. She said it was just like in the fairytales."

"And?" Rich said, not seeing any relevance at all. Mini then began massaging her temples and sighed in an irritated manner.

"Were you just born stupid or -" She snapped out.

"I actually have better things to do, so…" Mini exhaled deeply and grabbed onto Rich's wrist.

"Go to her." When Rich was still shrugging at her with no clue what Mini was getting at, she continued once more.

"Be her Romeo. Be her knight in shining armor… Shit, do I really have to spell this out for you, Valhalla?" Rich half-smiled as he got what she was saying.

"Do you actually think that will work?" He breathed, forgetting for a second who he was talking to.

"Yeah… Yeah, I do." For a moment they shared an understanding and Rich started shoving his feet into a pair of Alo's shoes. He glanced around and wondered whether or not to tell Alo he was leaving when Mini replied. "I'll tell Farmboy you left."

"Uh… thanks." He ran out of the door, thankful that he had his wallet in his pocket.

* * *

><p>9:30PM. Grace sighed heavily and continued to flick through her Rapunzel story. Her stomach growled angrily at her.<p>

"Shhh…" She grumbled. She had not eaten the dinner that her mum had prepared for her in a way of private protest. Her dad had banged on the door angrily, but Grace said she wasn't hungry… This wasn't really the mature approach she had wanted to take, but she couldn't think of another way to get her father to listen to her.

She decided to finally listen to her stomach's constant nagging and silently crept towards her bedroom door. She turned the key in the lock and her mouth nearly watered as she thought of the food that was just downstairs waiting for her.

Just as she was leaving, she heard a distant voice calling her name. She stood stock-still for just a moment, but her eyes widened in excitement as she realized just who was calling her. She ran to her window and stumbled out onto her balcony. When she looked over the edge, she couldn't wipe the grin off her face.

"What are you doing, Rich?" She said loud enough so he could hear her, but still rather quiet incase her parents could hear.

"This is my last attempt at making you remember…. Shit, how did that line go again?" Grace leant over the balcony, as Rich attempted to climb up the drainpipe again.

"It is the east, and Juliet is the sun?" She asked and Rich smiled up at her, clearly confused.

"That's the one… How did-"

"I remember it all, Rich." She said and Rich almost fell off the drainpipe in shock.

"And how do you feel about that?" Rich asked. Grace smirked mischievously and coyly tucked her hair behind her ears.

"I probably love you." Rich scoffed at this, as he tried to move his foot further up the wall.

"Just probably?" _Why was she only confessing her love for him now?_

"A tiny bit more than probably… I tried to ring you…" Then she remembered why she was only now telling him she loved him. "You shouldn't actually be here, Rich."

"My phone was dead… Wait, why?"

Grace's door was flung open, as her Dad stood there. His eyes widened in shock as he saw Grace standing on the balcony. He huffed very loudly and left, presumably to go outside. This was confirmed by the sound of footsteps descending down the stairs.

"RUN RICH!" Grace shouted and she ran after her father. She heard the front door open, as she was halfway down the stairs, so she quickened up her pace.

She was panting when she eventually got to the front door and her father was standing over Rich's twisted body that was in a heap on the floor.

"Oh, Rich!" She yelped, and went to help him up. He wasn't hurt badly, but Grace was happy to have an excuse to physically be near him.

"Grace told me earlier that she wouldn't date you unless she received my approval."

Rich swore under his breath then turned to Grace with accusatory eyes.

"I thought it would be better for us if he said he approved…" She started to say, but her father hushed her.

"I said no." He said simply and Rich cleared his throat.

"Mr. Blood, Grace loves me and I…" Grace wanted to smile at the fact that Rich seemed to have a whole speech prepared for this. Her father gave a sigh and looked like he didn't want to say his next sentence.

"I know. That's the only reason why I am going to reluctantly approve this." Grace and Rich turned to each other with identical surprised faces.

"Really daddy?" She exclaimed and embraced her father in a hug before he shook her off him.

"Yes, well… I'm going to go inside now and you come as well, Gracie. Now." He said in his usual manner and turned to go back inside.

As soon as he was in the house, Grace stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips firmly against Rich's. They were both smiling so much that it made it difficult to kiss properly. She giggled and stepped back down for a moment and just held his hands in hers.

He brushed some of the hair out of her face and quietly said,

"Don't ever forget me again, alright?" Then he kissed her lightly on her forehead and she just seemed to melt on the spot. Yes, this was how it should be… He may not be your typical Prince Charming, but Grace thought he was exactly that.

"Alright."

* * *

><p>Oh my God, so that's it! I can't believe it :(<p>

Hopefully the ending is okay for you guys, I would hate to ruin the whole fic with this one last chapter.

So… I would like to dedicate this last chapter to all the faithful reviewers who have reviewed multiple chapters and even the people who haven't reviewed. It's great to have people so passionate about this story and I wouldn't have finished this story if it wasn't for your kind words of encouragement.

Also to the girls on the hardlet thread at fanforum, because you guys are all just awesome. And a special dedication to Megan (kerouacophy) who has been really into this story and you have her to thank for the update for this final chapter being so quick (or you probably would have had to wait for a week.)

Finally I really want to write another RG fic, but I want it to be a little more AU… I would love to hear if you guys have any ideas for one (you can tell me by PM if you want)! I probably won't start it for a little while, because I'm so busy right now with university, but when I find more time I'll definitely start it.

Thanks again,

TheCheeryCherry


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